Episcopal Blessing for Same-Sex Couples Is Positive Step for LGBT Community

Some churches are finally beginning to recognize and welcome the LGBT community.

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Christians often disagree on the issue of homosexuality, but thankfully, more people are beginning to welcome and celebrate all church members, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Most notably, the Episcopal Church recently voted to authorize a prayer blessing for use during the unions of same-sex couples. On the same day, the church also approved antidiscrimination guidelines to allow the ordainment of transgendered people as well as the inclusion of transgendered church members.

These are invaluable steps in the right direction, and it is not the first time that the Episcopal Church has been a trailblazer for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) issues. In 2003, the church became the first to consecrate an openly gay bishop, and in the following years, it has continued to be a safe haven and place of worship for members of the LBGT community. (However, not all Episcopalians support homosexuality and same-sex unions, and the church has splintered over the issue, with more conservative church members leaving to create their own denomination.)

The recent vote is important for many reasons. Not only does it recognize and celebrate same-sex unions, but it essentially recognizes and celebrates homosexual couples as a community. Homosexual relationships are either marginalized or vilified by many Christian denominations (as well as by our government and society as a whole), and the impact of that can be quite devastating. Without the support or even the acknowledgment of their worship community, gay couples can feel rejected and unwelcome in their own religion as well as among their family and friends. Hence, the recent vote of the Episcopal Church is a crucial step forward — and we can hope that it’s a step that inspires other denominations to be more welcoming and inclusive as well.

Steps such as these are also important because they become teachable moments that we can use when talking to our kids about homosexuality. The daily bullying that LGBT teens face at school can be overwhelming and even fatal: These teens are five times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers, and they are four to five times more likely to be depressed. The best way to encourage compassion, open-mindedness, and empathy in our children is to be examples of those qualities ourselves, and so when churches and communities step forward in support of the LGBT community as the Episcopal Church just did, it sends a powerful message to people of every sexual orientation and gender identity. It teaches a message of hope, love, and peace, which is a message that almost every religion and demonization can agree with and support.

Ultimately, we still have a long way to go before the LGBT community has equal rights, support, and security in our society. However, steps such as these help pave the way and create an environment of inclusion and equality, both inside and outside a house of worship.

Laura Berman, PhD, is a leading sex and relationship educator and therapist, popular TV and radio host, New York Times best-selling author, and assistant clinical professor of ob-gyn and psychiatry at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago. She is the star of Couples in Crisis, on the Everyday Health Channel, every Thursday at 1p.m. EST.

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